SLO County could be headed back to COVID red tier, health officials say. Here’s when
San Luis Obispo County could be placed in California’s red tier of coronavirus restrictions as soon as next week after months under tighter rules, according to SLO County Public Health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein.
That means local restaurants, museums, zoos, movie theaters and gyms could operate indoors at a limited capacity. Schools that haven’t began reopening could do so after two weeks in the red tier. And retail stores could allow more shoppers indoors.
According to Borenstein, if San Luis Obispo County continues to see a low positivity rate among the entire county and within the areas in the 25th lowest percentage on California’s Healthiest Place Index, the county could progress to the next tier, despite a high case rate.
As of Wednesday, the county’s positivity rate was 4.5% and the health equity metric was 4.8%.
Adjusted case rate was 19.3 new cases per day per 100,000 residents as of Wednesday, with an unadjusted case rate of 30.2.
Case rate is adjusted based off the number of tests conducted in the county — which in San Luis Obispo County is an average of 825.7 tests conducted daily per 100,000 people.
How can SLO County move to red tier of COVID-19 restrictions?
San Luis Obispo County entered the purple tier in mid-November 2020 under California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
Since that time, the state put a regional stay-at-home order dictated by intensive care unit availability in place in San Luis Obispo County and lifted it — yet the county’s purple tier status didn’t change.
Over the past two weeks, however, San Luis Obispo County’s coronavirus positivity rate, health equity metric and case rate — both adjusted and unadjusted — have seen significant improvements.
While the county’s case rate remains “firmly in the purple tier,” the county’s test positivity rate and health equity test positivity rate have reached orange-tier metrics, Borenstein said Wednesday at a county news briefing.
According to Borenstein, a county’s tier is typically determined by its worst metric. However, if two of the three metrics are two tiers down from the worst metric for at least two weeks, then the county can move down a notch on the restrictions.
In other words, even though San Luis Obispo County’s case rate is in the purple, the county could move to the less restrictive red tier if the test positivity rate and health equity metric remain in orange tier territory for two weeks.
As Borenstein said Wednesday, that could happen as soon as next week.
“Right now we are one week into the possibility of moving into the red tier if our overall county positivity rate and our health equity test positivity rate remain in the orange tier for at least one more week,” Borenstein said.
While she is happy that the county is moving in the right direction, Borenstein said, there is always a potential for backslide.
“That is very good news for our community, it is good news for our businesses, it is good news for our schools,” Borenstein said. “As always , I want to remind the public that any of this could change if we open too fast and too aggressively. We stand to get back into a bad situation.”
Here’s a quick refresher on what the tiers mean for the county:
What do coronavirus color tiers mean?
San Luis Obispo County was placed in the purple tier of California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy on Nov. 16.
In early January, the three metrics that determine the county’s tier placement reached all time highs, with case rate and testing positvity rate peaking Jan. 11 and health equity positvity rate peaking the week after.
Since mid-January, San Luis Obispo County has seen a steady improvement across all metrics and an increase in coronavirus testing.
In counties under the purple tier, the virus is considered “widespread,” with more than 8% of tests coming back positive across the county, more than 8% of tests coming back positive in vulnerable areas and more than seven new cases daily per 100,000 residents.
San Luis Obispo County’s population is 278,862. To achieve a case rate below seven cases per 100,000 people, the county needs fewer than 19.5 new cases per day.
Under the purple tier:
- Places of worship are allowed to open indoors with maximum capacity of 25% or 100 people, whichever is fewer. (This was recently updated after a Supreme Court ruling, according to Borenstein.)
- Movie theaters must close indoor services.
- Gyms and fitness centers must close indoor services.
- Restaurants must close indoor services.
- Museums, zoos and aquariums must close indoor services.
- Retail stores have to decrease indoor capacity from 50% to 25%.
- Shopping centers, malls, destination centers and swap meets must decrease indoor capacity from 50% to 25% capacity.
- Personal care services such as hair and nail salons, tattoo parlors and barbershops are allowed to remain open with restrictions.
Counties in the red tier are considered to have “substantial” disease spread. Counties in this tier have a positivity rate between 5 to 8%, health equity positivity rate between 5.3 and 8%, and an average of four to seven daily new cases per 100,000 residents.
Under the red tier:
- Retail may increase indoor capacity from 25% to 50%.
- Shopping centers, malls, destination centers and swap meets can increase indoor capacity from 25% to 50% and operate reduced-capacity food courts.
- Personal care services are allowed to open indoors.
- Museums, zoos and aquariums are allowed to open indoors with maximum capacity of 25%.
- Places of worship are allowed to open indoors with maximum capacity of 25% or 100 people, whichever is fewer.
- Movie theaters are allowed to open indoors with maximum capacity of 25% of 100 people, whichever is fewer.
- Hotels and lodging are allowed to open fitness centers at 10% maximum capacity.
- Gyms and fitness centers can open indoors at 10% maximum capacity.
- Restaurants can serve guests indoors with maximum capacity of 25% or 100 people, whichever is fewer.
Schools can reopen in person after two weeks of the county being in the red tier, according to state guidelines.
COVID-19 spread is considered “moderate” in orange counties. Counties in this tier have a positivity rate between 2 to 4.9%, a health equity positivity rate 2.2 and 5.2%, and an average of one to 3.9 daily new cases per 100,000 residents.
- Restaurants can open indoors at 50% capacity or a maximum of 200 people.
- Retail is no longer limited in capacity indoors, but modifications must remain in place.
- Places of worship can open indoor at 50% capacity or 200 people with modifications.
- Museums, aquariums and zoos can open for indoors at 50% capacity.
- Gyms can open indoors at 25% capacity with modifications, and indoor pools may reopen.
- Wineries can open indoors at 25% capacity or 100 people maximum.
- Bars can open outdoors with modifications.
In counties in the yellow tier, coronavirus spread is considered “minimal,” under the new guidelines. Counties in this tier have an average of less than one new case per 100,000 residents, less than a 2% positivity rate and less than 2.2% health equity positivity rate.
